Cabinet safety latch

ABSTRACT

A safety latch for a cabinet door is disclosed which includes two plastic members affixed respectively to the door and to the jamb, advantageously by means of a foam-type pressure sensitive adhesive. The portion of the combination latch affixed to the door includes a main body having a flush mounted and preferably integrally die cast plastic flap or tab an end of which is releasable by inwardly directed adult finger pressure. Release of the tab exposes a recessed well into which a finger may be inserted to release the hook-like projection of the first member from a shoulder of the main housing. This release permits the cabinet door to be opened. The cabinet is relocked by urging the portion of the combination latch that is on the door against the portion affixed to the jamb. The flap of the catch is then closed and provides a completely flush surface thus preventing access to the cabinet contents except by children who lack sufficient power and digital dexterity to manipulate the flap and catch mechanism.

United States Patent 1191 Vicendese et a1.

1451 Sept. 30, 1975 1 CABINET SAFETY LATCH [76] Inventors: Anthony P.Vicendese, 50 Sutton Dr.; Frank Vicendese, 617 Plainfield Ave., both ofBerkeley Heights, NJ. 07922 1221 Filed: Oct. 15,1974

211 App]. No.:514,38l

Primary E.\'aminerRobert L. Wolfe [57] ABSTRACT A safety latch for acabinet door is disclosed which includes two plastic members affixedrespectively to the door and to the jamb, advantageously by means of afoam-type pressure sensitive adhesive. The portion of the combinationlatch affixed to the door includes a main body havinga flush mounted andpreferably integrally die cast plastic flap or tab an end of which isreleasable by inwardly directed adult finger pressure. Release of thetab exposes a recessed well into which a finger may be inserted torelease the hook-like projection of the first member from a shoulder ofthe main housing This'release permits the cabinet door to be opened. Thecabinet is relocked by urging the portion .of the combination latch thatis on the door against the portion affixed to the jamb. The flap of thecatch is then closed and provides a completely flush surface thuspreventing access to the cabinet contents except by children who lacksufficient power and digital dexterity to manipulate the flap and catchmechanism.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of23,909,050 0 0 FIG.

lm l'lli lll U.S. PEltfillt Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 2 0 52 3,909,050

CABINET SAFETY LATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto door latches and, more particularly, to a safety latch for cabinetdoors found in and about the household. Recent federal regulations havemade mandatory the use of special types of bottle closures for materialswhose contents may be dangerous if carelessly taken or employedotherwise than carefully in accordance with set prescription. Even theubiquitous aspirin bottle is now required to be protected by a cap thatcannot be casually removed by an adult and which requires an amount ofdexterity and a degree of intellectual concentration beyond thatexhibited by children of tender years.

While these safety minded efforts are certainly commendable, noeffective steps have yet been taken to exclude children from those areasof the home which contain poisons, sharp instruments, corrosives orother dangerous instrumentalities. In the average under-sink cabinet ofthe American home will usually be found one or more of the following:household bleach containing chlorine compounds, drain cleanerscontaining lye, automatic dishwasher detergent containing strongphosphate compounds, steel wool, lemon oil furniture polish, powderedcleanser containing ground glass and sophisticated chlorine liberatingchemicals, etc. The under-sink kitchen cabinet is easily within reach ofthe small toddler at the very time when his curiosity and mobilitygreatly exceed his discretion. Yet, nothing has been done to place alock on this particular barn door".

Of course, the concerned parent may simply do just that. It wouldrequire no breakthrough of technology to drill through the cabinet doorand install a simple hasp and padlock. Yet we are aware of no householdwhere this has been done. It is not because parents lack genuine concernfor the safety of their children, it is simply because in the words ofC. S. Lewis Crisis-feeling is essentially transitory. A hasp and apadlock are not the sort of items that the housewife and mother buysdespite the fact that it may be within her everyday experience to seeher toddler fingering the under-sink cabinet latch and making tentativeexplorations of its intriguing contents. And even if, should the tiredhusband come home from the office and be met at the door, not with amartini and slippers, but with the demand that he forthwith fetch histool box and affix the prior art hasp and padlock to the cabinet doorbefore sitting down to supper, still, other considerations apply todeter the fruition of the plan. The conventional hasp and padlock is notonly inconvenient to install, it is also unsightly in appearance. A lockrequires the use of a key or the running of a combination. The delay andinconvenience of each of these means that even if such a device isinstalled, it will, after an initial and perhaps only a ceremonialusage, be left unlocked. The need, therefore, is for a safety latch thatis easy to install, preferably without the use of any tools and which isfast and convenient to operate requiring neither a key nor themanipulation of combinational tumblers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing and other objects of ourinvention are achieved in one illustrative embodiment of our safety doorlatch which includes a first hook, toggle or bayonet-like member affixedto the stationary part of the cabinet frame or door jamb and a secondmember mounted on the outer moving surface of the door which is adaptedto cover and engage the first member when the door is closed. The secondpart of our door latch which, advantageously, may be manufactured ofplastic includes a housing having a recess for receiving on itsunderside the toggle, hook or bayonet-like first member. The housingincludes a cover flap which is flush with the external surface of thehousing and which can only be opened by an adult having a greater than apredetermined amount of physical strength in his fingers.Advantageously, this predetermined amount may be adjusted duringmanufacture to coincide with the recommendations of the federalregulations governing poison containers, etc., such as those regulationspromulgated by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

The cover flap of our door latch is similar in theory of operation tothe cover flap of the poison bottle closure shown in G. N. Pettersen US.Pat. No. 3,419,198 issued Dec. 31, 1968. In accordance with ourinvention, however, the cover flap is part of an elongated housingaffixed to the outer surface of a cabinet door and when the cover flapof our invention is opened, a cavity is exposed in the housing whichpermits a finger to be inserted to release the engagement of the firstor stationary member of our combination latch. In the preferredembodiment of our invention, the first and second members of ourcombination latch are affixed to the door jamb and to the door surface,respectively, by the use of a pressure-sensitive adhesive therebyeliminating the need for the user to employ any installation tools. Inthe preferred embodiment of our invention, the flush cover flap and thehousing which comprise the second member of our combination safety latchare die cast as an integral assembly, the hinge portion of the coverflap being comprised of a relatively thin flashing or web sectionbetween the comparatively heavier cross-sections of the tab and of thehousing. Beneath the tab in a well provided in the housing is a pivotbar or fulcrum against which the tab may be urged when pressure isapplied by the finger to the external surface of the tab at a pointbetween the hinge and the location of the pivot bar. Since the pivot barbeneath the flap is invisible when the flap is closed, a suitable indexmark is placed on the exposed surface of the tab to show where pressureis to be applied. The application of pressure in sufficient amount,approximately four pounds, causes the tab to bend inwardly between thehinge and the fulcrum and outwardly beyond the fulcrum thereby releasingthe cantilevered end of the tab from the recessed lip of the housing.The end of the tab is then made accessible to the fingers and the tabmay be fully opened to expose the recess into which the first member ofthe combination safety latch has been entered through the underside ofthe main housing.

According to our invention, the hook or toggleJike first member (whenexposed to view by opening the flap) may be bent away from an engagingshoulder that is integral with the second member housing to release thelatch thereby permitting the cabinet door to be opened. In oneembodiment, the first member is fabricated having a resilient plasticweb-like section that serves as a spring-like catch such that it may bebent under finger pressure away from the second member and then returnitself to its original shape. Alternatively, the first member may bemade in four pieces including a yoke, a tongue, 21 hinge-pinion and aspring that normally urges the tongue into engagement with the shoulderof the second member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The foregoing and other objects andfeatures of our invention may become more apparent by referring now tothe drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective and partial sectional view of the safetylatch of our invention affixed to a cabinet door and its door jamb inwhich the flap has been opened to expose the pivot bar, the recessedwell and one version of the catch;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the latch;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the latch and catch members in engagement;

FIG. 4 shows the side view of an alternative embodiment of our inventionemploying a single piece catch; and

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show three different types of cabi' net doorconstructions with the appropriate safety latch mounted of ourinvention.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown the safetydoor latch of our invention. Affixed to door I is the main body 3 of oursafety door latch which is positioned on door 1 so that its end 3'overhangs the edge 1 of the cabinet door. The under surface of main body3 which is in contact with door 1 is advantageously provided with aurethane foam pressure sensitive adhesive 3". Foam-typepressure-sensitive adhesives are preferred inasmuch as they readilyconform to the surface imperfections of a cabinet door once the door hasbeen cleaned using commonly available rubbing alcohol or conventionalhousehold spray cleaner. The pressusresensitive adhesive may have athickness of approximately l/32 of an inch. Body 3 has a depth D so thatit can receive within its aperture 4 the tongue 6 of the catch member 7which is affixed to the door jamb 2 of the cabinet. Aperture 4 isnormally hidden from view by flap 8 which is shown in the open position.Flap 8 is hinged at 9 to the upper surface of main body 3 and includes alip 10 which engages recess 1 l of main body 3 when flap 8 is closed.

Main latch body 3 includes a well 12 into which flap 8 may be partiallydepressed by finger pressure applied to point 15. To facilitate thebending of flap 8, its under surface may include a notch 16. The well 12of body 3 includes an integrally cast pivot mound or bar 20 whose apexis positioned beneath the top surface 19 of member 3 a sufficientdistance to allow for the thickness t of member 8. When flap 8 isclosed, notch 16 lies between hinge 9 and the apex of pivot mound 20,but is advantageously closer to the apex of mound 20 than to hinge 9.Pressure point 15 on the outer, visible surface of flap 8 is locatedbetween notch 16 and hinge 9 but is advantageously located closer tonotch 16 than to hinge 9. Pivot mound 20 includes a shoulder 21 forreceiving the projecting mushroom head 6' of catch 6.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a top view of the main body 3with the hinged flap 8 fully opened exposingwell 12 and aperture 4. Flap8 is hinged to the main body 3 at 9. Hinge 9 advantageously may be pro-,duced during die casting of the main body by providing for a thinresilient section or flashing of the plastic being cast. Between theaperture 4 and well 12 is pivot mound 20 having a shoulder 21 adjacentaperture 4. The top surface 19 of body 3 may advantageously be providedwith a small bead 19', the purpose of which is to discourage theinsertion of a finger nail or other sharp instrument between the edges8' of flap 8 and the peripheral surfaces 12 of well 12 by a child orother individual attempting to defeat the operation of the device. Whenflap 8 is closed, edges 8 will abut edges 12 very precisely and it ispreferred that there be less than about 0.005 inch clearance.

In FIG. 3, a side view of the main body 3 and catch 6 is shown whereinthe hook portion 6 of catch 6 has engaged shoulder 21 of main body 3. Inthis position, the cabinet door is still locked to main body 3 althoughflap 8 is shown in the fully opened position. To release the latch, afinger is inserted in thumb recess 6" and the catch member 6 is rotatedto the left about pinion axis 25.

The under surface 3" of main body 3 as well as the under surface 7" ofcatch member 6 is provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive whichadvantageously may be of the foam type. Urethane foam pressuresensitiveadhesives having a thickness of approximately l/32 of an inch have beenfound to be satisfactory for use on normally smooth cabinets found inthe average kitchen. Rougher textured cabinet surfaces may require asomewhat thicker foam, the increased thickness thereof compensating forthe greater degree of surface irregularity.

Catch 6 is normally urged into engagement with shoulder 21 by flatspring 23, one end of which is secured to the base of trunion 7. Whenflap 8 is closed, button 18 on its under side engages thumb recess 6" incatch member 6 further locking it into engagement with shoulder 21 andthereby providing an additional protection against inadvertent openingof the door 1.

FIG. 4 shows a side'view of the left-hand portion of main body 3 inengagement with an alternative embodiment of a catch 41. Catch 41includes a projecting mushroom head 42 which engages shoulder 21 of mainbody 3. The mushroom head also includes a thumb recess 43 similar tothumb recess 6" of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Catch member 41 isadvantageously made of nylon or other highly spring-like plasticmaterial and is fashioned to have a reduced cross section web portion 44about which flexure of mushroom head 42 may take place whenappropriately urged by the finger of an adult inserted into finger guide43.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show three different types of commonly occurring doorand jamb arrangements. FIG. 5 shows a top view of an overlapping doorand jamb fitted with the safety latch of our invention in somewhat thesame manner as the arrangement of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows the top view ofan abutting door and jamb arrangement in which the main body 3 of ourcatch is advantageously spaced out from the door by means of a spacer3-1 to allow for the greater displacement of catch 7 from door jamb 2'.FIG. 7 shows a semi-lap type of door and door jamb arrangement which isaccommodated by the use of a somewhat thinner spacer 3-2 than wasrequired in FIG. 6.

It will be apparent that instead of using pressuresensitive adhesives,the main body 3 and catch member 6 or 41 may be affixed to the door andjamb surfaces by means of conventional screws or bolts. However, it isthought that for the household market, the use of pressure-sensitiveadhesive will facilitate the use of our safety latch by the average homeowner or housewife who may not be familiar with the use of tools,Numerous other modifications may be made by those skilled in the artwithout, however, departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety catch for locking together two members comprising a hookmember mountable to one of said members,

a main plastic body affixable to the other of said members and having anaperture therethrough for receiving said hook member,

said main body having a shoulder extending into said aperture forengaging said hook member and a flush fitting cover flap integrally diecast with said main body for hiding said aperture and said hook memberfrom view, said flap being hinged to said main body by a thin plasticflashing section.

2. A safety catch according to claim 1 wherein said main body isprovided with a well beneath said cover flap into which said cover flapmay be depressed to release an edge thereof opposite saidhinged-flashing section.

3. A safety catch according to claim 2 further including a fulcrum barpositioned in said well beneath said cover flap against which said coverflap may be urged to facilitate the release of said edge of said flap.

4. A safety catch according to claim 3 wherein a portion of said wellopposite said hinge is provided with a recess and wherein said coverflap is provided with a mating lip to engage said well recess.

5. A safety catch according to claim 4 wherein said cover flap isprovided with an index mark on the exter nal surface thereofintermediate said hinge and the apex of said fulcrum bar.

6. A safety catch according to claim 1 further comprising apressure-sensitive adhesive coating applied to the underside of saidmain body.

7. A safety catch according to claim 6 wherein said hook member includesa pressure-sensitive adhesive coating applied to the underside thereof.

8. A safety catch according to claim 7 wherein said hook member includesa base, a thin resilient section and a mushroom head'portion at the endof said thin section, said resilient section having a spring-likecharacteristic adapted to urge said mushroom head into engagement withsaid shoulder in said main body aperture.

9. A safety catch according to claim 1 wherein said hook member includesa base member defining a pair of trunions, a hook-shaped catch memberfitted between and pivotably secured to said trunions and a spring forbiasing said catch member into engagement with said shoulder.

10. A safety catch according to claim 9 wherein said hook memberincludes a finger recess whereby catch member may be released fromengagement with said shoulder when said cover flap is opened.

11. A safety catch according to claim 10 wherein a surface of said hookmember and a surface of said main body have applied thereto apressure-sensitive adhesive coating.

12. A safety catch according to claim 11 wherein said cover flapincludes a button on its underside for engaging said hook member fingerrecess when said flap is closed thereby locking said hook member againstmotion.

1. A safety catch for locking together two members comprising a hook member mountable to one of said members, a main plastic body affixable to the other of said members and having an aperture therethrough for receiving said hook member, said main body having a shoulder extending into said aperture for engaging said hook member and a flush fitting cover flap integrally die cast with said main body for hiding said aperture and said hook member from view, said flap being hinged to said main body by a thin plastic flashing section.
 2. A safety catch according to claim 1 wherein said main body is provided with a well beneath said cover flap into which said cover flap may be depressed to release an edge thereof opposite said hinged-flashing section.
 3. A safety catch according to claim 2 further including a fulcrum bar positioned in said well beneath said cover flap against which said cover flap may be urged to facilitate the release of said edge of said flap.
 4. A safety catch according to claim 3 wherein a portion of said well opposite said hinge is provided with a recess and wherein said cover flap is provided with a mating lip to engage said well recess.
 5. A safety catch according to claim 4 wherein said cover flap is provided with an index mark on the external surface thereof intermediate said hinge and the apex of said fulcrum bar.
 6. A safety catch according to claim 1 further comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating applied to the underside of said main body.
 7. A safety catch according to claim 6 wherein said hook member includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating applied to the underside thereof.
 8. A safety catch according to claim 7 wherein said hook member includes a base, a thin resilient section and a mushroom head portion at the end of said thin section, said resilient section having a spring-like characteristic adapted to urge said mushroom head into engagement with said shoulder in said main body aperture.
 9. A safety catch according to claim 1 wherein said hook member includes a base member defining a pair of trunions, a hook-shaped catch member fitted between and pivotably secured to said trunions and a spring for biasing said catch member into engagement with said shoulder.
 10. A safety catch according to claim 9 wherein said hook member includes a finger recess whereby catch member may be released from engagement with said shoulder when said cover flap is opened.
 11. A safety catch according to claim 10 wherein a surface of said hook member and a surface of said main body have applied thereto a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating.
 12. A safety catch according to claim 11 wherein said cover flap includes a button on its underside for engaging said hook member finger recess when said flap is closed thereby locking said hook member against motion. 